Jayatilaka v. Sigera and Others – SLR – sllr 2003 volume 2 page 114

In the case between Jayatilaka (plaintiff-appellant) and Sigera and others (defendants-respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether a district court could grant a declaratory decree concerning the plaintiff’s right to state land or if such relief required recourse to a writ from a Superior Court. The sequence of events revealed that the action was dismissed at trial based on the view that appropriate relief lay exclusively in obtaining a writ, without the trial court properly determining its jurisdiction over the matter. Upon appeal, this approach was rejected, and the principle was reaffirmed that judicial forums have an obligation to resolve preliminary jurisdictional questions and determine entitlement to declaratory relief, even where alternative remedies may exist. This dete